[(Birthright)] [By (author) Nora Roberts] published on

[(Birthright)] [By (author) Nora Roberts] published on Plot Summary

Introduction

# Unearthed: Excavating Identity from Buried Secrets The backhoe blade bit deep into Maryland earth, and construction worker Billy Younger was thinking about his wife's complaints when the ancient skull rolled out with the dirt. Six thousand years of silence shattered in an instant as empty sockets stared up through summer heat, and Billy's scream echoed across the Antietam Creek site like a wounded animal's cry. Dr. Callie Dunbrook arrived expecting routine archaeology—another Neolithic settlement to catalog and preserve. Instead, she found herself standing over bones that would pale beside the secrets about to claw their way out of her own buried past. That evening, as Callie catalogued artifacts in her sterile hotel room, a knock shattered her concentration. The woman at her door looked fragile enough to break, clutching a manila envelope like salvation itself. Suzanne Cullen's voice trembled as she spoke words that would fracture Callie's world: "I believe you're my daughter. The baby stolen from my stroller twenty-nine years ago." The photographs spilling across the bed told an impossible story—a three-month-old infant with Callie's distinctive dimples, her stubborn chin, her wide-set amber eyes. What began as archaeological discovery would become an excavation into criminal conspiracy, where the deepest dig would be into the layers of Callie's own stolen identity, and where someone was willing to kill to keep the past buried forever.

Chapter 1: The Revelation: When Ancient Bones Uncover Modern Secrets

The skull wasn't the only thing watching Callie that October evening. She'd spent fourteen hours in the Maryland heat, carefully excavating what radiocarbon dating would confirm as a six-thousand-year-old Neolithic settlement. Her hands still bore traces of ancient earth when the knock came at her hotel room door. Suzanne Cullen stood in the hallway like a ghost seeking resolution. Middle-aged, well-dressed, with graying blonde hair and eyes that held decades of desperate hope. "Dr. Dunbrook? My name is Suzanne Cullen. I need to speak with you about something that will sound impossible." Callie's first instinct was to close the door. She'd dealt with enough amateur treasure hunters to recognize the type. But something in the woman's voice, a tremor of barely controlled emotion, made her hesitate. "It's about your birth," Suzanne continued, words tumbling out in a rush. "About who you really are. I know this sounds insane, but I believe you're my daughter Jessica, who was taken from me twenty-nine years ago." The words hit like a physical blow. Callie stared at this stranger, taking in bone structure that might mirror her own, eyes that seemed familiar in ways that defied logic. "That's impossible. My parents are Elliot and Vivian Dunbrook. I was born in Philadelphia." Suzanne's hand trembled as she withdrew a faded photograph. "This was taken three days before she was stolen. Look at her, Dr. Dunbrook. Really look." The baby in the photograph had Callie's distinctive dimples, the same stubborn chin, the same wide-set eyes. The resemblance was undeniable, unsettling in its precision. Callie's world tilted on its axis as she stared at what could have been her own infant face. "I was shopping at Hagerstown Mall," Suzanne whispered. "Just for a few minutes, I turned away while my three-year-old son Douglas visited Santa. When I turned back, the stroller was empty. Jessica was gone. The police searched everywhere, but..." Her voice broke. "I never stopped looking. Never stopped hoping." The photograph burned in Callie's hands like evidence of a crime she'd never known was committed. Her rational mind rejected the story even as her heart began to race. She was Dr. Callie Dunbrook, respected archaeologist, daughter of a prominent Philadelphia physician. She had birth certificates, medical records, a lifetime of memories. But somewhere deep in her bones, in the place where instinct lived, something whispered that Suzanne Cullen was telling the truth.

Chapter 2: Digging Deeper: Following the Trail of Stolen Identity

The blood tests confirmed what Callie's heart had begun to accept. She was indeed Jessica Lynn Cullen, stolen from her biological family twenty-nine years ago. But scientific proof only deepened the mystery. How had a respected Boston lawyer obtained a kidnapped child so quickly? Who else was involved in the conspiracy that had destroyed one family to create another? Attorney Lana Campbell spread the evidence across her desk like an archaeologist displaying artifacts. Adoption papers that were never filed, birth certificates that didn't match, a paper trail that led nowhere and everywhere at once. "The adoption decree is a forgery," Lana explained, her voice clinical despite the magnitude of revelation. "Beautifully done, but fake nonetheless." Callie's adoptive parents, Elliot and Vivian Dunbrook, sat in stunned silence. The people who had raised her, loved her, shaped her into the woman she'd become, were as much victims of this deception as she was. "We were told you were the child of a young woman who couldn't care for you," Vivian whispered, tears streaming down her face. "We never questioned it. We were so desperate for a child." The investigation led to Marcus Carlyle, a Boston attorney who had specialized in private adoptions during the 1970s. But Carlyle had vanished years ago, leaving behind only whispers of scandal and a son who claimed ignorance about his father's business practices. As they dug deeper, a pattern emerged. Other families, other stolen children, other lives built on lies. The baby trafficking ring had been sophisticated, targeting specific infants for specific clients, using medical professionals and legal experts to create false identities and forge documents. Dr. Henry Simpson, Callie's adoptive mother's former obstetrician, had recommended Carlyle to the desperate couple. Simpson seemed genuinely shocked by the allegations, but his current wife Barbara raised suspicions. Something in the woman's too-careful responses felt rehearsed. Research revealed Barbara had worked as a maternity ward nurse at Washington County Hospital during the exact period when Jessica Cullen was born. The pieces of conspiracy began emerging from decades of shadow. Carlyle hadn't worked alone. He'd needed medical contacts, people with access to hospital records and newborn information. Barbara Halloway, now Barbara Simpson, had been perfectly positioned to identify vulnerable families and provide inside intelligence. But someone didn't want these secrets unearthed. The first sign of danger came when Lana's office was torched, destroying months of research. Then came the phone calls, the sense of being watched, the feeling that they were dancing on the edge of something far more dangerous than anyone had imagined.

Chapter 3: Blood in the Water: Violence Shadows the Investigation

The first body surfaced in Simon's Hole like a message from the depths. Ronald Dolan, the local developer who had fought to build houses on the ancient settlement, floated face-down in the dark pond that bordered Callie's archaeological site. His skull was crushed, apparently killed while attempting to sabotage the dig with planted animal bones. Sheriff Hewitt treated it as an isolated incident, possibly connected to local opposition to the archaeological project. But when Bill McDowell, one of Callie's earnest graduate students, was found drowned in the same pond just weeks later, the pattern became impossible to ignore. The timing was too convenient to be coincidental. Both deaths occurred as Callie was making progress in tracing the adoption conspiracy, as she was getting closer to finding Marcus Carlyle and the network that had stolen her from her biological family. Someone was using murder to create chaos around the dig, to distract attention from her investigation into her own past. Bill's death hit the team particularly hard. The young man had harbored an obvious crush on Callie, following her around the site with puppy-dog devotion. His murder felt personal, a message that anyone close to her was at risk. The archaeological project, which had been a source of professional pride and scientific discovery, now felt tainted by violence and fear. The bullet came without warning, splintering bark inches from Jake Graystone's head. Callie's ex-husband dove for cover behind a massive oak, his archaeological training suddenly irrelevant in the face of very modern violence. "Someone's shooting at us," he called out, his voice tight with controlled fear. They made it back to the dig site without further incident, but the message was clear. Someone was watching, someone was willing to escalate to violence, and someone had resources that made them extremely dangerous. The investigation had moved beyond personal revelation into something that could get them all killed. As Callie stood beside the pond where two men had died, she realized that her search for the truth about her identity had awakened something deadly. The people who had profited from stealing children weren't content to let the past remain buried. They were willing to kill to protect their secrets, to add fresh graves to the ancient cemetery she was excavating. The ancient bones she'd spent her career studying suddenly seemed like harbingers. Death had always surrounded her work, but now it was reaching into the present, claiming the living as well as honoring the dead.

Chapter 4: The Enemy Within: Betrayal in the Archaeological Team

The explosion lit up the night sky like a malevolent sunrise. The trailer that served as their field headquarters erupted in a ball of flame and twisted metal, months of research and irreplaceable artifacts reduced to ash and memory. Jake threw himself on top of Callie as burning debris rained down around them, his body shielding her from the violence that had invaded their sanctuary. But it was what they found the next morning that truly chilled Callie's blood. In the excavation square where she'd been working, someone had placed a department store mannequin dressed in her clothes, wearing her field hat. Around its neck hung a hand-lettered sign: R.I.P. "They've been in the house," she whispered, recognizing her own olive drab shirt and pants. "Someone's been through my things." The violation felt almost worse than the attempt on her life. Someone on her team, someone she worked with every day, ate with, laughed with, trusted with her safety, was a traitor. The team gathered in the kitchen the next morning, faces drawn with shock and exhaustion. Bill McDowell's empty chair seemed to accuse them all. Dory Halston, the team photographer, kept dabbing at her eyes with tissues. Rosie Jordan, Callie's closest friend on the dig, sat silent and pale. Someone at this table was a killer. The breakthrough came from an unexpected source. Doug Cullen, the brother Callie had never known, called from Boston with excitement and horror in his voice. "I found her, Callie. I found Carlyle's secretary. Her name is Dorothy Spencer, and she's living in Charlotte. And there's more—she has a daughter named Dory." The words hit Callie like a physical blow. Dory Halston, the team photographer who'd been documenting their work for months, who'd cried over Bill McDowell's death and worked tirelessly to clean up after the trailer explosion. Dory, who'd had access to everything—their schedules, their routines, their personal belongings. "She's Marcus Carlyle's granddaughter," Doug continued. "Dorothy Spencer was his secretary and his lover. When she got pregnant, Carlyle moved his operation to Seattle to avoid scandal. But the baby wasn't his—it was his son Richard's." The generational web of deception was staggering in its complexity. Marcus Carlyle had built his criminal empire on stolen children, and now his granddaughter had infiltrated Callie's team to protect the family secrets. Three generations of lies, and Dory had been living among them like a cancer, documenting their deaths as methodically as she'd documented their discoveries. At the dig site, Callie watched Dory through new eyes, seeing the calculation behind the friendly smile, the predatory patience in her helpful demeanor. The woman who'd been taking photographs of their work had been photographing their murders.

Chapter 5: Generational Sins: Unraveling Three Decades of Deception

The Simpsons' house stood empty, windows dark, the driveway bare of cars. Henry and Barbara Simpson had fled in the middle of the night, taking enough luggage for a permanent departure. Their panicked flight confirmed what the evidence had already suggested—they were guilty of far more than anyone had imagined. Lana's investigator had uncovered the horrifying scope of the conspiracy. Barbara Halloway had worked at Washington County Hospital during the exact period when Jessica Cullen was born, then mysteriously relocated shortly after the kidnapping. She'd been Marcus Carlyle's inside contact, the medical professional who identified potential targets and provided the information needed to steal children. The pattern was methodical and cruel. Carlyle would establish himself in a city, build relationships with obstetricians who treated infertile couples, then relocate periodically to avoid detection. His network included hospital contacts who could identify vulnerable targets: young mothers, unmarried women, families without resources to mount extensive searches. Financial records revealed suspicious payments between Carlyle's practice and several medical professionals, including the now-fugitive Simpsons. The baby trafficking ring had operated for over two decades, stealing dozens of children and selling them to wealthy couples who believed they were participating in legitimate adoptions. Richard Carlyle, Marcus's son and a successful Atlanta lawyer, claimed ignorance of his father's crimes but seemed to know more than he was willing to admit. The investigation had reached into the highest levels of legal and medical establishments, revealing corruption that had protected the conspiracy for thirty years. But the most devastating revelation was yet to come. Dorothy Spencer, Carlyle's secretary and lover, had given birth to a daughter—Dory—who was actually Richard Carlyle's child. The family had kept their secrets through violence and intimidation, and now the third generation was continuing the tradition. As Callie processed the magnitude of what had been done to her and countless other families, she realized that her case had become the key that could unlock the entire criminal enterprise. But Dory wasn't going to let that happen without a fight. The woman who'd been living among them, documenting their work and planning their deaths, was preparing for a final confrontation. The ancient settlement Callie had been excavating revealed its own story of family and community, of people who had lived and died together in the shadow of Antietam Creek. But some family legacies were built on foundations of blood and betrayal, and some secrets were too toxic to remain buried.

Chapter 6: The Choice: A Mother's Love Tested at Simon's Hole

The phone rang at 2 AM, shattering the silence like a gunshot. Callie grabbed it on the second ring, her heart already racing with the certainty that something terrible was about to happen. "Hello, Callie." Dory's voice was calm, almost conversational, but underneath lurked something cold and deadly. "I have your mothers." The words froze Callie's blood. "Both of them?" she whispered. Dory's laugh was like broken glass. "Come to Simon's Hole. Come alone, or I'll kill them both. You have ten minutes." The drive to the pond was a nightmare of racing thoughts and desperate prayers. Callie pushed her vehicle to dangerous speeds on the winding country roads, Jake's knife hidden in her boot, her mind cycling through every possible scenario. None of them ended well. At the pond, Dory emerged from the shadows like a specter of vengeance, her face a mask of bruises from their earlier confrontation. In her hand was a gun, and at her feet lay two bound figures—Suzanne and Vivian, both unconscious and helpless. "Choose," Dory said, her voice cracking with madness. "Which mother will you save?" She shoved Suzanne into the dark water, then held the gun to Vivian's head. "If you dive in after her, I'll shoot this one. If you try to save this one, the other drowns." The choice was impossible, inhuman. Callie stared at the two women who had shaped her life—one who had given her birth, one who had given her love—and realized that she couldn't save them both. But she could try. Callie dove into the black water as the gun fired, feeling the bullet graze her shoulder as she plunged toward the sinking figure. The pond was cold and dark, filled with the ghosts of ancient peoples and recent victims. She swam deeper, her lungs burning, her wounded arm screaming in protest. When her fingers finally closed around hair and rope, she didn't know which mother she was saving. In the darkness beneath the water, identity didn't matter. Only love mattered. Only the desperate need to preserve life in the face of senseless death. She broke the surface gasping and choking, Jake's strong arms pulling them both toward shore. Behind her, Doug surfaced with Vivian, and for a moment, all that mattered was that they were alive, all of them, breathing and whole despite everything that had tried to tear them apart. Dory stood on the shore, her gun wavering as she faced the reality of her failure. The conspiracy that had defined three generations of her family was finally crumbling, and she was the last guardian of secrets too terrible to survive exposure.

Chapter 7: Reconstruction: Building Family from Fractured Lives

The hospital waiting room held the remnants of Callie's world—her archaeological team sprawled across plastic chairs, her two sets of parents hovering anxiously, Jake pacing like a caged animal with his arm in a sling. The fluorescent lights cast everything in harsh relief, making the exhaustion and trauma written on every face impossible to hide. Dory and her father Richard were in custody, their three-generation conspiracy finally exposed to the light. Dorothy Spencer had broken under FBI questioning, revealing the full scope of Marcus Carlyle's baby trafficking operation. Dozens of families would finally learn the truth about their children, their identities, their stolen lives. Sheriff Hewitt, who had initially dismissed the conspiracy theories, was forced to acknowledge the pattern when financial records showed suspicious payments between Carlyle's practice and several medical professionals. The arrest warrants had gone out just as Callie was beginning to find her emotional footing with both families. Callie sat between her two mothers—Suzanne, who had given her life, and Vivian, who had given her love—and tried to understand how to move forward with a heart split between two families, two identities, two versions of herself. The Dunbrooks had struggled with guilt and confusion upon learning that their beloved daughter had been stolen from another family, but their unconditional love proved that parenthood was about more than biology. The Cullens faced their own challenges in accepting that their recovered daughter was no longer the child they had lost. Callie could never be Jessica, the little girl who had been torn from their lives twenty-nine years earlier. She was a fully formed adult with her own loyalties, relationships, and identity. "You saved us both," Suzanne whispered, her voice hoarse from the pond water she'd swallowed. "When you dove in, you didn't know which one of us you were saving, did you?" Callie shook her head. "It didn't matter. You both... you're both my mother. I can't choose between you any more than I can choose between breathing and having a heartbeat." Jake appeared beside her chair, his good hand gentle on her shoulder. The accusations of infidelity that had destroyed their marriage had proved to be based on lies and misunderstandings, carefully orchestrated by a jealous colleague. Working together on the investigation had forced them to confront the misunderstandings that had driven them apart. "The doctors say everyone's going to be fine," he said. "What about you? How are you holding up?" She looked around the room at the people who had risked everything for her—her team, her families, the man she'd never stopped loving despite their bitter divorce. "I'm going to be okay. We all are. We're going to figure out how to be a family—all of us, together."

Summary

In the end, Callie Dunbrook learned that identity isn't found in documents or DNA, but in the choices we make and the love we choose to accept. The baby stolen from a shopping mall stroller had grown into a woman strong enough to save two mothers, wise enough to embrace two families, and brave enough to excavate the most dangerous truth of all—that family isn't defined by blood or law, but by the willingness to sacrifice everything for those we love. The conspiracy that had stolen her infancy was finally exposed, its perpetrators facing justice, its victims finding peace. Marcus Carlyle's network had operated for over two decades, stealing dozens of children and selling them to wealthy couples who believed they were participating in legitimate adoptions. The profits had corrupted doctors, lawyers, and medical professionals across multiple states, creating a web of complicity that had protected the conspiracy for thirty years. But the real victory wasn't in the courtroom or the headlines—it was in the hospital room where two women who should have been rivals held hands over the daughter they both claimed, and in the moment when Jake slipped a wedding ring back onto the finger of the woman he'd never stopped loving. Some excavations reveal artifacts; others reveal the truth. And sometimes, if you're very lucky, they reveal that the life you've built on uncertain ground is exactly the life you were meant to live.

About Author

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Nora Roberts

Roberts builds an immersive world where romance intertwines with suspense and fantasy, offering readers a diverse tapestry of narratives. Her writing traverses various genres, from contemporary romance to futuristic suspense, while her consistent theme of exploring human relationships and resilience remains prominent. Writing as J.D. Robb, she delves into a futuristic landscape with the In Death series, integrating crime and technology into her storytelling. Meanwhile, titles like The Awakening and Hideaway demonstrate her knack for combining emotional depth with thrilling plots, thus keeping readers engaged across different worlds.\n\nHer method involves crafting intricate plots and multifaceted characters, leading to over 500 million copies of her books in print. This speaks to her ability to resonate with a wide audience, as she weaves stories that captivate both the heart and the mind. By incorporating elements such as romance, mystery, and fantasy, Roberts ensures her work appeals to a broad spectrum of readers, from those seeking escapism in fantastical realms to others craving gripping suspense. Moreover, her prolific output, with more than 200 novels, underscores her commitment to storytelling that consistently delivers both entertainment and reflection.\n\nFor readers, the benefit lies in the richly constructed narratives that provide both an escape and a mirror to real-life dynamics. Whether through the enchanting worlds of The Dragon Heart Legacy or the compelling crime scenes of the In Death series, her books offer something for everyone. Her ability to blend different genres into cohesive stories makes her an influential figure in contemporary fiction, encouraging readers to explore diverse themes and emotions through the pages of each book.

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